Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Realistic weapons or is it just a game?

I've had mixed responses from my posts and comments on bows and crossbows. Got some really good feedback from folks who know their stuff when it comes to bows and crossbow. I'm thankful for that opportunity to broaden my knowledge. On the other hand I've had some responses along the lines of "oh it's a game", "if you don't like it go play something else". This seems to be a standard response from folks who don't want the system changed, and how is the system going to improve if it doesn't change? What happens when folks who bring these comments to me are also the more outspoken members of a community driven game design process? How much improvement can come from that?

I can understand some errors in D&D weapon design from back in the day, but things seem written in stone for the last 40 years. The internet allows a quick search that brings enough information to the table to show that the bow and arrow model in D&D is wrong and could be improved. In the seventies there was no internet, so I understand. Push forward 40 years and what's the excuse now?

I believe as designers we should work on making better models of the weapons, and not just copy paste from prior editions or similar games. It's our job. Even if it's a game. I like to believe we're building a game, but we're not playing around. As much fun as creating a game can be I think it should be taken seriously. More so if you're charging real money for it. Unless of course we're willing to accept game money.